Middle-Aged Friday
Middle-Aged Friday (中年フライデー Chunen Furaide) is a gag one-shot by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro, serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. Overview A middle-aged and cowardly salaryman experiences bad luck through his life in the "Concrete Jungle" of Tokyo, being ridiculed at work as well as more abuse and mishaps occurring when trying to bond with his uncaring family. He meets a mysterious old man known as''' "The Robinson Crusoe of Tokyo"' at the park one morning, an enigmatic figure who deems him his own "'Friday'''" and gives him the encouragement he needs to be more assertive in life. There was minor presence of the Star System employed, with Noragaki (who had recently gained his own feature) showing up as a nod, as well as the general Robinson Crusoe theme furthering what Boy Friday had initially done. Characters "Sho-chan" A 42-year old salaryman and father who is humiliated at work over a wardrobe malfunction, and mistreated by his hideous wife and son but cannot stand up to them. He longs for the days he was the younger, more confident "Lion" of Tokyo. By the end, he is able to order his wife and son around with a new ferocity and produce a proud lion's roar of "GAOOO!" to assert his dominance. Boss The company president, who has a tanuki-esque appearance similar to Boss Kokoro's henchmen. He pushes Sho around, but is revealed to be embezzling funds by the end of the story when he goes to take money from the safe and happens upon Sho sleeping in front of it. Sho is able to successfully defeat this man and prevent him from going through his illegal activity, regaining confidence. Wife A horrendously ugly and violent woman, who pushes her husband around and doesn't leave him any proper meal or a futon to sleep in. Yasuo A bratty young boy who joins in on the abuse of his father, and dares to interrupt his television time. His father attempts to get him a Plamo model as a gift, but Yasuo ignores him. After he's hit by his father in an outrage, he cries for his mother and gets her to punish him. In the end, an intimidated Yasuo and his mother obey the commands of Sho-chan, left to bow in respect and deference. The Robinson Crusoe of Tokyo An old man that appears in the public park, dressed in a fashion much like the figure of legend and carrying about a leaf umbrella. He is able to give Sho-chan the motivation to keep living and fighting against his unfair life. However, the final panel and punchline of the story shows a concerned crowd at the park, commenting on how this man has died, as a bothered-looking Sho-chan passes by in the background. Serialization *Weekly Shonen Sunday: #17 for 1975 Reprints *Akebono: Reprinted at the end of "Boy Friday" volume 2, with some editing done to Noragaki's lines in his cameo. *Shogakukan: Digitized along with the "Boy Friday" volumes for the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set, and print-on-demand version through ComicPark. External Links Category:1970s works Category:Gag works Category:Manga Category:Works serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday